August 3, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

It’s The Little Things: Wave Iron

I first learned about the wave iron on a girls’ trip I took to New York City with a bunch of friends four years ago. One of the girls is a genius at doing hair. She did my hair with the wave iron. I was skeptical because I thought it would be like a crimper. But it isn’t. It simply produces soft waves. The waves all of us girls in the eighties wanted. The ones we used to have to get through perms.

I was hooked from the moment she did my hair.

I used to do my hair with the wave iron all of the time, but I lost my wave iron two years ago.

I only recently purchased the Pro Beauty Tools Professional Speed Waver from Amazon. It was under $15 so I figured if it did not work, it was not a big deal.

Well, I loved it.

Here is how I use it. Wait! Before I begin, I want it noted that my mirror is not dirty, but rather, when they installed my countertop last year, they reinstalled the mirror with some sort of glue that is now eating through the mirror and causing those marks. I think it looks vintagey, so I do not mind it:

I have very thin hair. It took me nine minutes to wave my entire head. I never use the wave iron with clean hair. The wave is too soft. I like to use it with one day old clean hair. Does that make sense?

I turn the wave iron onto a setting that is not the lowest but just a little hotter than the lowest setting. You do not want to use the highest setting. This wave iron gets hot and your hair has a greater potential of frying if it is set at that.

First I start with a small section of hair and I place the top section of the hair near the root into the wave iron. I count quickly to ten (not in the thousandths, just one, two, three…). When you first try it, count to five to see if it works at a lower number. You do not want to burn your hair!

Then move the wave iron down to an unwaved section and count again. Do this until you reach the end of that section of hair. Because ends of hair are usually the driest, I only count to five at the ends. They have a greater potential to burn off with heat so I do not want to chance it. Plus it looks more beachy with the ends slightly not as wavy as the rest of the hair. I always do one half of my head before I do the other half.

Pretend you’re a mermaid and make a fish face. Yes, this part is necessary. Trust me. Your hair will ~~not~~ turn out if you do not do this.

Repeat all over head. Then do not forget to unplug your wave iron (this message is to myself because inevitably five minutes after we have left the house, we have to turn around to check to make sure I have unplugged my devices. Be better than me!).

Spray with hairspray.

Make a funny face.

Enjoy your waves! These are nice the next day, too. The wave is softer and more beachy then. Plus the wave hides dirty hair pretty well. I touch up a section if it needs it.

I do not use this all of the time. Any kind of heat is not good for your hair. So, use sparingly. I used mine five times before I reviewed it here because I wanted to make sure I would recommend it.

I do. With that said, as with any product your experience may vary. And as with any beauty tool, please use with caution and at your own risk.

I purchased this wave iron with my own money. I was not compensated for writing this post. However, the link above is an affiliate link. Purchasing the wave iron from the link will provide a small commission for this blog.

Do you have a wave iron? How often do you use it? I use mine about once a week, but I can usually get two to three days of wave from that one day.

It’s The Little Things: Changing Your Hair In A Fun Impermanent Way.

*The dress in the photos was styled and ironed previously in this post here.

July 11, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Lemon Fields

Lemon wine
Thir-ty seven
A day without kids
I ate everything.

Isn’t that catchy? I think it is the next big hit.

Actually, I did not go to a lemon field. And I had neither lemon wine nor wore lemon or wine on this day, but I did visit a vineyard. I wore a lemon color and I drank enough wine to lead me to believe that this post should be entitled, “Lemon Wine” and then promptly changed my bleary mind. Does that count?

When my husband and I visited this vineyard, our children had embarked upon a weeklong camping trip with their grandparents. We were footloose and family free.

We ate so much I got sick.

I would say drank, but both the waiter and myself concurred that it must be the food and not the wine that had my head spinning. Who am I to argue with an expert?

Speaking of spinning, I spun through their gorgeous vineyard.

I had previously reviewed this skirt here, and I had dismissed it. But then Jessica from Breakfast at Gigi’s went and bought the skirt and I loved it so much on her, I decided to try it again. This time I ordered the Zocalo Maxi Skirt in a medium (it is sold out, but you might be able to call customer service and find it in a store). It was on sale and I loved pairing it with turquoise.

Another brilliant thing Jessica did was to iron the sides of the skirt closed. I contemplated doing this. And I eventually might go this route, but for now I simply paired my skirt with a lace slip. I like the extra dimension and coverage that it provides.

I cannot get enough of my Simply Livly’s Turquoise Necklace.

Who says romance is just for kids?

Wait. Does anybody say that? That is just wrong.

Either way, I definitely had a moment with that creme brûlée.

And nobody can tell me differently.

Have you spun through a vineyard? Or from a vineyard?

And who thinks lemon wine should be a thing?

Those strawberries are sweet and all, but lemons… they’ve got some tang.

P.S. * I shared this on The Pleated Poppy!

June 22, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Things We Did and ate On Maui

On Monday, I will finish our Maui trip with pictures of sand, surf, and the resort we stayed at. But today, let’s travel around town. We all ready traveled to a volcano, a lavender farm, a waterfall and ate at Mama’s Fish House.

But we did much more. And nothing at all. I feel like we spent so much of our trip relaxing, but the following pictures showed we actually got around the island, too. It was the perfect trip.

We ate breakfast one day at Kihei Caffe. This still remains my very favorite breakfast spot. It is insanely inexpensive (for Maui) with huge portions and the food is just darn good. Greasy. Buttery. Good. Comfort food.

Upon the recommendation of the owner (I believe the man is the owner. He is always there. Has a command of authority. And is always smiling), we tried this pastry thing. It was filled with cream cheese frosting. It was groan-out-loud-but-not-in-a-“When-Harry-Met-Sally”in-a-public-restaurant-good. I am still thinking about it. It was amazing, like a homemade Toaster Strudel.

We all enjoyed our meal and the kids were happy they split their ginormous plate of pancakes.

After going ziplining last year, I knew I was going to be sitting out of the family’s ziplining excursion this year. That is, unless L.B. was one of the instructors. I told my family I would join them if he was there to catch me. I am nothing if not a team player.

Alas, L.B. was not working. Some other lovely young men were.

I stayed on the ground and took pictures of my family in the air.

It was actually very peaceful. I did not regret not ziplining. Heights are just not my thing. It was my son’s favorite thing he did on Maui. They had a blast.

We also ate at The Monkeypod Kitchen on this trip. Twice. This restaurant is very good. The buns on my pulled pork sandwich are made on the premises. Everything there is fresh and proudly created in their kitchen. My kids could not get enough of their fish and chips.

We had a bottle of my favorite Firefly Red Flash wine left over on our last night in Maui (we bought six bottles of wine at the grocery store when we got there. Five Barefoot Pink Moscatos and one Firefly. This was such a cost saver. Our room had a small refrigerator and came with a wine opener). We did not want it to go to waste, because we could not bring it home. Even though it was $25 to uncork it at the restaurant, it was still cheaper than a single bottle of wine there. We are so unbelievably fancy.

We will pay $25 to uncork a $6 bottle of wine. But that is how much we love that wine.

It was worth it.

We have tried different shaved ice places on Maui. The best one? Ululani’s. Hands down.

I am boring. I know what I like. And I always get the same thing.

Strawberry and blue raspberry syrup (made on the premises from their sugar cane) over vanilla ice cream and shaved ice.

It is heaven. The tables even have holes so your ice cup can rest on the table and you can very ladylike shovel the delectable treat into your mouth.

We ate here so often that we filled a punch card and got an icee free. If you go to Maui, you have to have shaved ice. It is not the same as snow cones or shaved ice near you. I promise.

We went to a luau at The Marriott in Wailea.

I wore a Free People dress I purchased last summer and my Forever 21 Floral Kimono.

The food was delicious.

The drinks were all included and I liked them… Maybe a little too much.

The show was entertaining. We were seated at a table with four teenage girls and a separate party consisting of two honeymooners. It was an interesting dynamic. We had a good time.

I loved the couple’s dance they incorporated for the adults that were together.

We brought back so many memories from this trip. But like most experiences, my being cannot process them all at once. They simply combine together into one simple feeling: pure happiness.

What has been your favorite vacation destination? Is your favorite part the food? Or the experiences?

June 21, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Zombified

We decided that after our delicious meal at Mama’s Fish House, we would go find a waterfall on The Road To Hana. Lest you think we actually went and drove the road to Hana, that would be a negative. We drove ten minutes to a waterfall.

We are not Road To Hana People.

You need to know this about yourself if you decide to drive it.

You either are.

Or you are not.

And if you are not, then you really, really are not.

They do not call it “Divorce Highway” for nothing.

Last year, when we first arrived at our hotel, we stepped into an elevator with a family of three. They were so downtrodden. Heads low. Sweating. If it were not for the sweating, I would have assumed they were the first unfortunate souls in a zombie apocalypse.

We stood next to them. Cheer bouncing from our skin. Our necks freshly leied from just checking in.

The zombie family recoiled at the sight of us.

I guess fresh leis are to zombies what garlic garlands are to vampires.

I couldn’t help myself. “What happened to you?” I rudely questioned.

The dad briefly looked up. He would not look me in my eyes. The lei’s power was too much.

“We just got back from The Road To Hana,” he mumbled.

The elevator stopped and they shuffled out.

My husband and I looked at each other as the doors closed. Our eyes made a silent pact.

“We will never become those creatures.” Our eyes told each other. We will never travel to Hana.

Fast forward a year and a half. Our stomachs full from the best meal of our lives. Our feet all clad in a various assortment of flip flops and sandals.

“Let’s find a waterfall!” I proclaimed.

It had to be the two Relaxers I had drank an hour before.

I have never wanted to see a waterfall. I have been on “The Jungle Cruise” at Disneyland before. I have seen the front side… and the backside of a waterfall.

Many times.

I was good.

But somehow we found ourselves traveling on The Road To Hana, towards Twin Falls.

The waiter had said it would be seven minutes on the road. Then there would be a little fruit stand (the sweet saving grace of the trip. They sold coconut water and apple-bananas).

“It’s justa five minute walk from ther’,” his sweet Southern accent promised.

We must not have tipped enough.

Either that or five minutes in Maui is different than in other parts of the world.

Our watches must not have caught up.

Or maybe he assumed we had all ready been zombified from having taken the road to Hana to the restaurant.

Zombies can walk far. And are horrible at math.

We took all of our belongings out of the car.

All of them.

The signs told us to.

We began the walk.

In our stupid, impractical open-toed shoes, we set out on a hike.

Our shoulders laden with a camera bag and purses.

We are nothing if not always unprepared.

I should have paid attention to the people walking from the other direction. Back towards their cars. Their t-shirts clinging to their wet bodies. Their heads set low.

But I didn’t. I was too busy oohing and aahing about the trees as we wandered down a rocky path.

I was imagining I was Joan in “Romancing The Stone.”

This lasted for about five minutes before the complaining began.

“How much farther?”

“My feet hurt.”

“Whose idea was this?”

“Ugh! It is so hot.”

And the complaints were all coming from me.

I was in character.

We crossed a small ~~river~~ ~~pond~~ body of water .

And we walked.

A lot.

We finally made it to the waterfall after forty five minutes. Sweat was pouring down our faces. Across the small lake, a cheering crowd of people clad in various forms of swimwear had formed around the water’s edge.

They were laughing.

Splashing.

Immune to a forty-five minute walk in the heat of a humid day.

Lovely.

It was a party and zombies were not allowed.

We turned around and headed back to our car.

Down trodden.

Heads low.

Sweating.

Shuffling.

We had caught the dreaded virus.

Otherwise known as physical exertion.

There was no help for us.

When we finally got back to the hotel, our eyes squinted at the pure gleaming whiteness of the buildings. We shuffled past newly arrived guests getting their fresh leis oblivious to the adventures that might await them.

I heard one of them ask the girl at the front desk,”How long will it take us to get to Hana?”

I shambled past them.

Sniffed in disdain the fresh lei upon her neck.

The newbie was asking the wrong question. The right question is, “How long will it take in Maui/Zombie time to get to Hana?”

I could have warned her. Told her to stay in the comforts of the hotel. But that would not have been fair.

You either are Road To Hana People. Or you are not. You need to know which one you are.

Because on The Road To Hana, it is survival of the fittest.

It is good to know which one you are.

Before that lei.

Goes around.

Your.

Neck.

Gnome Lover

Stumbling through life while still having fun

to

It’s The Little Things: Wave Iron

Lemon Fields

Things We Did and ate On Maui

Zombified